Red TT-33 Slides?

L

Lumanaru

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Can someone educate me on the history behind these funky factory red slides on some TT-33 pistols? I've seen photos of them mixed in crates with other regular surplus, but had never seen one until today. One has popped up at my LGS, a gorgeous 1937 TT with a red slide, but I'd like to know it's worth it before I drop the cash.

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Doesn't it? I just recall seeing photos of them mixed in crates with the regular slide Toks, but I don't know if it meant anything. If it was a simple plum job, I'd figure just a treating issue, but it's a deliberate finish.
 
M39 collectors go nuts for plum finish on barrels. Like jean, I believe it's a combination of older bluing fluid, the steel composition, and whether the surface is work hardened from machining.

These parts did not look plum right out of the bath usually. Often they turn plum in the weeks after bluing as the finish ages/cures. I've seen it firsthand bluing modern guns in caustic salt baths.

I blued a Mauser bolt 2 weeks ago that literally turned plum an hour after it came out of the bath. It happens. Then you order fresh solution - lol.
 
I've seen chromed TT33's right out of the crate, too. Those look nice but I wonder about the story behind them, too. I've got a '45 dated TT33 up on the EE with wood grips from when the Soviet Union was running low on plastic. If you need one of those fit your collection, hit me up :)
 
IMHO it happens during oxidizing/metal finishing process when the part has been immersed into solution for less time than prescribed. Someone on Russian web resource shared an experimental confirmation of this theory.
 
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